“Your listing was removed counterfeit item policy.”

[mchratliff]

There has to be an eBay sweep going on, I've had random obscure items on my personal and verified 6 year old account taken out all within a 2 week span (never had a single VeRo complaint in the past.) I deleted all my listings in fear of getting totally banned and am considering going stealth in the meantime letting my personal account cool off, Nothing I have listed is on the VeRo list (of course that list is nowhere near comprehensive..why make it easy on sellers?) Been following the forums on here for a while, now I see exactly why there is a definitive need for stealth accounts. This is just absurd.

[LeeF73]

Originally Posted by stealthbro

i just lost today another batch of 10 ebay accounts. Mixed, vero, counterfeit (even from weeks ago). I think its now a ebay sweap as well. Makes sense now covid 19 is on hold or lets say business start back open. I lost some accounts i never ever even sold an item just sitting there with 2 listings for 40 days.

The same problem. Been selling for months and yesterday BOOM, -2 accounts with totally different listings (counterfeit item police). My items are not counterfeit, but eBay believes otherwise.

[rsot]

Originally Posted by stealthbro

i just lost today another batch of 10 ebay accounts. Mixed, vero, counterfeit (even from weeks ago). I think its now a ebay sweap as well. Makes sense now covid 19 is on hold or lets say business start back open. I lost some accounts i never ever even sold an item just sitting there with 2 listings for 40 days.

Besides the vero and counterfeit sales, which are obviously problematic, it is likely you have been linked - steps for account creation, list them for analysis

[Karbonis]

I got the same exact email about one of my listings, and as I checked, A LOT of people's listings got removed. I assume you are selling digital items just like me
I uploaded the exact same listing, except I put a space in the middle of the brand's name so it cant be identified by some ebay bot

already sold a lot

[Evofox]

Originally Posted by theking27

this policy violation will go off after 6 months. Do not list before this time or use different account. i tested with 3 accounts and its working.
now they have new policy violation system.
1. COUNTERFEIT ITEM POLICY VIOLATION(eBay removal): 1 st IS warning, 2st 3 days restrictions, 3rd : 7days, 4th 10 days restriction 5th: ?? (maybe selling restriction indefinitely-)
2. VeRO Unauthorised Item Policy (this is vero takedown): 1 st IS warning, 2st 3 days restriction, 3rd : 7days, 4th 10 days restriction 5th: ?? (maybe selling restriction indefinitely-)

they will not mix these type of violations, they handle these separately.

Gl.

So if i got first the: COUNTERFEIT ITEM POLICY VIOLATION(eBay removal): 1 st IS warning, 2st 3 days restrictions, if i wait 6 months my account will be clean again? and if I get a suspension after the 6 months they will again just send me a warning?

[Romancevic]

List the same product on the different account

[Romancevic]

Originally Posted by Evofox

So if i got first the: COUNTERFEIT ITEM POLICY VIOLATION(eBay removal): 1 st IS warning, 2st 3 days restrictions, if i wait 6 months my account will be clean again? and if I get a suspension after the 6 months they will again just send me a warning?

If your listing was counterfeit once no point to wait long time, just list it on different account and you will be fine.

Do not sell on one account!!! Remember

[unity006]

There is definitely some kind of an eBay Sweep happening. I have been selling on a legit account fully registered under the name of my Limited Company with VAT registration since 2017, over £1M sales on this account in total and over £500K in the last 12 months and I never had a single listing removal. However I had listing removals in June and also now more in July. Through countless eBay Support Chats and phone calls I was able to have all of my listings reinstated and Policy Violations removed from my account however I am now getting very worried and will not be sourcing any more new stock for a while. For the record I sell pre-owned designer clothing and accessories.

Also what's really annoying is that due to these removals my standing in the search results has really taken a hit and I get a lot less traffic and sales now then I should be getting. eBay ofcourse deny any wrongdoing and confirm my search results positioning should not be affected.

[lokimischief]

Interesting to hear. I have my personal business account that's been going strong 12+ years with 20k+ feedback and 40k items for sale.

Yesterday got a "Your listing was removed: Counterfeit item policy". First one of those in probably 8 years. My goods are tangible and authentic but for some reason I got hit. If it's a trend on Ebay right now, that's a bit distressing.

[james13v]

I've seen plenty of very large sellers, that have a ⊗⊗⊗⊗ in their listings. Have you guys ever considered that maybe there is a reason the listings were flagged?

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by stealthbro

So i got a insider info .. there is a DDOS attack on all microsoft sellings websites. As well that person runs a bot on ebay listing who list those items as well. Literally all ebay listings got removed by ebay "counterfeit". Its a polish seller who did it. Before he run a bot and created up to 1000 listings daily until ebay stopped him. i guess now he got mad and want to take down all other seller as well. But its just a matter of time interpol is on his ass already because he let some of his personal info inside of those attacks he did ;-) cant share more. but its just temporary dont waste your accounts and list those items. Good luck

Whoever told you that - and had you believe it was responsible for the removal of OP's listing needs to do time in solitary confinement.

[Pandoras_box]

Originally Posted by Rnm62

Hi,

...We were thinking of letting the account cool for 60-90+ days and then putting it back up but changing the title, picture, description etc and only putting a very low quantity up to start with, maybe 10 and sell them slowly. Would this work or will the listing just be flagged eventually and taken down again?

Thanks.

It makes no difference if you wait 6 or 60 days. If you list the same item and you're restricted again within 12 months of the first restriction, it'd be for 7 days, then 30, 180, etc before you get suspended.
If you only got a 3-day restriction, it is unlikely that you'd be suspended without first exhausting the various restrictions listed above.

[unity006]

Originally Posted by Pandoras_box

It makes no difference if you wait 6 or 60 days. If you list the same item and you're restricted again within 12 months of the first restriction, it'd be for 7 days, then 30, 180, etc before you get suspended.
If you only got a 3-day restriction, it is unlikely that you'd be suspended without first exhausting the various restrictions listed above.

How did you arrive at a figure of 12 months for the Policy Violation to be completely expired from the account history? I have asked numerous eBay reps on the phone and via chat and nobody could tell me what the expiration date for such violation is.

[unity006]

Originally Posted by james13v

I've seen plenty of very large sellers, that have a ⊗⊗⊗⊗ in their listings. Have you guys ever considered that maybe there is a reason the listings were flagged?

I have very carefully studied the listings that got hit in my case and found the possible reasons why they were removed based on what customer support told me on the phone etc. I will not go over all but I will go over some of the listings I had recently removed.

Please also let me underline that all these removals I had were NOT "vero" removals. They were counterfeit policy removals.

Listing One
This was for a high end designer item which was in very poor condition and it got hit because the price was too low. However the price was obviously low to reflect the very poor condition... I argued this on the phone and eBay said that it was not clear enough that the item is in poor condition but agreed to reinstate it, although my description clearly explained all the imperfections and the photos also showed the damage. So I had it relisted and changed the item title to include say the following as the first 3 words "DAMAGED - POOR CONDITION" and then the brand and type of item etc.

Listing Two
The listing was for a product from 1983 which is in brand new condition in orginal box and packaging and tags etc... Again after speaking with eBay they reinstanted this listing. As for the reason... I am "reading between the lines" but I had the original paper catalog from 1983 and I took some photographs (not scans) of the pages that showed this product. You would think eBay would be happy as something like this confirms the authenticity... but instead they said that it is a copyright infringement... Also they said the item is vintage and cannot be therefore listed as new with tags since there is no longer any warranty for this item with the manufacturer etc etc.

Listing Three
Very similar reason to listing two but slightly different. I listed 12 items which are from Spring Summer collection of 2002 for a certain brand. They are in new condition but are missing the original boxes. I listed them as brand new with tags and they all got removed. eBay again has allowed me to reinstante these listings and I had to list them as "Used in 10/10 condition - never worn". I suspect the reason is the same, the items are indeed new but since they are very old, they dont have warranty etc etc.

[eDay]

Originally Posted by Rnm62

Hi,

I got an email off eBay yesterday afternoon saying my listings been removed due to their counterfeit item policy.

I haven’t been restricted and as far as I’m aware, it wasn’t a vero takedown which I assume would be more serious? No email to contact anybody about this takedown. It’s the first time this has happened to us on this account.

Could it be a eBay bot or a competitor that reported us? Surely it would take more than the odd competitor for a listing to be taken down otherwise so many people would be doing it? We were doing really well. Sold over 200+. 100% feedback. Account made in 2016. No opened cases. Monthly limit 500/10,000.

We were thinking of letting the account cool for 60-90+ days and then putting it back up but changing the title, picture, description etc and only putting a very low quantity up to start with, maybe 10 and sell them slowly. Would this work or will the listing just be flagged eventually and taken down again?

Thanks.

Did you succeed to handle VERO issue? If yes, how did you do it?(we are having similar issue)

[eDay]

Originally Posted by unity006

I have very carefully studied the listings that got hit in my case and found the possible reasons why they were removed based on what customer support told me on the phone etc. I will not go over all but I will go over some of the listings I had recently removed.

Please also let me underline that all these removals I had were NOT "vero" removals. They were counterfeit policy removals.

Listing One
This was for a high end designer item which was in very poor condition and it got hit because the price was too low. However the price was obviously low to reflect the very poor condition... I argued this on the phone and eBay said that it was not clear enough that the item is in poor condition but agreed to reinstate it, although my description clearly explained all the imperfections and the photos also showed the damage. So I had it relisted and changed the item title to include say the following as the first 3 words "DAMAGED - POOR CONDITION" and then the brand and type of item etc.

Listing Two
The listing was for a product from 1983 which is in brand new condition in orginal box and packaging and tags etc... Again after speaking with eBay they reinstanted this listing. As for the reason... I am "reading between the lines" but I had the original paper catalog from 1983 and I took some photographs (not scans) of the pages that showed this product. You would think eBay would be happy as something like this confirms the authenticity... but instead they said that it is a copyright infringement... Also they said the item is vintage and cannot be therefore listed as new with tags since there is no longer any warranty for this item with the manufacturer etc etc.

Listing Three
Very similar reason to listing two but slightly different. I listed 12 items which are from Spring Summer collection of 2002 for a certain brand. They are in new condition but are missing the original boxes. I listed them as brand new with tags and they all got removed. eBay again has allowed me to reinstante these listings and I had to list them as "Used in 10/10 condition - never worn". I suspect the reason is the same, the items are indeed new but since they are very old, they dont have warranty etc etc.

Based on your experience, what strategies do you use to avoid VERO items?

[agent006140]

designers like Coach,Tapestry etc are watching Ebay and taking down listings,
When Tiffany took Ebay to court for false advertising-allowing counterfeit Tiffany items for sale on Ebay and lost the case,the judge told Tiffany it is the manufacturer which should be going after the counterfeits and knockoffs,so Tiffany and others are on Ebay,they can remove your listings with or without Ebay assistance.
But Ebay did set up some rules on Tiffany items,overseas sellers cannot list multiple quantity of Tiffany items,TIFFANY sells its items from their shops,so where do these brand new Tiff trinklets come from?
There is a website which will authenticate designer handbags and Ebay sellers do use them,may be you should take a look

[agent006140]

do Paypal and Ebay still have this rule,if a buyer claims the item is counterfeit,he is asked not to return the item,BUT TO DESTROY IT?
I know Paypal used to do that.

[james13v]

Originally Posted by agent006140

do Paypal and Ebay still have this rule,if a buyer claims the item is counterfeit,he is asked not to return the item,BUT TO DESTROY IT?
I know Paypal used to do that.

no that is not the case

[HurricaneHuntr]

Originally Posted by eDay

Based on your experience, what strategies do you use to avoid VERO items?

Do not sell branded item is the simple answer, what can pass and not pass is far more difficult to answer.

Oddly enough chanel items are easier to sell than others. Which is odd, at least in my experiences. Not that i resold many chanel items, but I've dabbled.

Also only sell 1-2 items, spread them out. Do not start a listing with 24 dre beats. I'd normally say don't list 1... but if i had 1 and i wanted to move it, likelihood of them hitting 1 is rare, unless it's a Microsoft product. do not list MS products, they are crazy about them.

[Valhalla1]

Avoid vero items if you can, there is not a magical method to handle these items. MS items are the worst. I have seen 100-200 listings with MS items, 2-6 hours later just a few keep alive. At the other hand, if you have a lot, i mean a LOT, of stealth accounts then you can burn them out selling vero items and maybe you get some profits.

[grach]

Hi guys, sorry for my English. I have some more info here: The same thing happened to me. Starting from this summer I received probably 10 counterfeit item policy listings removal. Never received a single one during last 5 years or so. It all looks like bot is working. They restricted my account for 3 7 10 10 3 7 10 10 3 days... Each time it was 2-10 listings to be removed. Usually I receive next restriction 2-7 days after the previous restriction ended. the very last removal I received today for another 3 days removal and they are saying next time will be 7 days restriction. I was thinking that it is my competitor's work, Not sure now. by the way, EB removes vero and not VeRo items sometimes, just random items but all in one category. It looks like bot scans categories one by one. I personally think that is a result after last year's Europe made marketplaces to be responsible for any kind of IP Violations. They used to don't care about those violations and just remove listings after they receive VeRo complain. European countries will soon start to implement that Law one country after another because each county needs to do this separately. US is next in line, but platforms started to prepare now. I also see Amazon started to buy IP rights now and they produce all products under their own brands now and make them Prime even for made to order items that are not located on their FBA facilities. Right holders and big guys will be happy and will make even more money. One day amazon will just wash out everyone else from their marketplace.

I still hope this the reason of complaints are my competitors, but the chance is small. 10 days ago EB removed one of my listings along with another random listing 6 hours after we listed it. So I don't think my Chinese competitors are so fast in making complaints in such a fast manner.

I hope someone do have some inside information and post it right here. The info about Polish guy sounds like a BS to me.

Thanks guys. We'll find the way to survive.